Now's the time we've been waiting for. The engine/transmission
going down into place. Had to take off the fuel pump, no clearance.
Everything sat down nicely with about 1/2 inch clearance front and
back, plenty of clearance side to side.

The engine is now sitting on blocks of wood in the front and side
and hanging from a strap on the back of the transmission. The next
step is to measure and mark the frame for the motor mounts and make
a bolt-in transmission mount. Since we did not rebuild either the
engine or transmission, we want to make sure they will be easy to
get out in case repairs are needed. The engine looks dwarfed by
that big car, but there is surprisingly little room for it. The
fenders have big shelves built into the wheel wells, I don't know
if they will fit or not. We might have to make different wheel
wells. We'll see. Next thing is to get the steering column in
place.

It's been a while since I put anything here. That's because it's been
too hot to work in Roger's shop this summer. Now that it's cooling
off, we'll hopefully get something done. We have put in the motor
and transmission mounts and welded in the mounts for the lower struts.
The engine is back out so I can wire brush the whole deal and paint it.
Then the engine goes back in for the last time. (I hope)

God it's been a long time since I put anything here. The motor is
in for the last time, I had the driveshaft lengthened 6" and it's all
hooked up. The steering column is in and the necessary u-joints to
get it to the rack-and-pinion steering. Here you see I've cleaned
and painted the inside of the engine compartment and put the radiator
in where it belongs. We hung the fenders and there is about 1/2 inch
of clearance all the way around. So far, so good.

Well, I rescued the Dodge from Roger's shop. He's a great guy, but
it got to where the simplest thing would take weeks, nay months, to
complete. We rolled it onto a trailer and brought it home. It's
up on jack-stands now so I can complete the fuel line, brake lines,
etc. I got some seats for it, I'll put the pictures up as soon
as I get them developed.

Here is the big ol' Dodge in our "Pole Barn". You can see the makeshift
floor I put under it. One of these days I'll get the concrete floor done for the whole barn.

Here's some pics of the dash with the Monte Carlo Steering column, and of the seats that I got from Ronnie Dodson of Jacksonville Auto Salvage. They're out of a 1990 Chrysler New Yorker and just about bolt right in. Also, there's the power brake setup out of a 1989 Aerostar van. Slick deal, master cylinder, power booster, pedal and all.

Those "Carnival Red" headliner and door panels have got to go.

I got the brakes all hooked up and bled with a minimum of fanfare. I
discovered that since I mounted the motor low in the frame to make the car handle better, and since I retained the stock frame and crossmember in the front of the car, I ran out of room for the power steering pump. I looked
all around, and finally settled on a pump from a 1987 Buick. It's small,
with the tank pulled off of it (I'll mount a tank on the fenderwell or somewhere) and the pressure should be close to what the Mustang rack wants. I'll have to get a bracket made to mount it to the cylinder head.

I took a little time and made sure the power seats work OK. Good. Now, I have to raise the front seats up about 4" to get the right head clearance, and the most important thing--elbow out the window when you're cruising down the street clearance. Got the back seat bolted in. Remarkable how the interior room in a 1948 Dodge (a huge car) and a 1990 Chrysler (a K car) are almost the same. Except of course that the rear leg room in the old Dodge is about three feet, and the Chrysler is about six inches.